Björk, Paul McCartney, Virtual Reality and More

• Last week, singer-songwriter Björk said: “I am delighted to announce the opening of Bjork digital exhibition at Carriageworks in Sydney.  It … is a further step into completing the full Vulnicura VR album which will come out soon. I feel the chronological narrative of the album is ideal for the private circus virtual reality is, a theatre able to capture the emotional landscape of it.”  HTC Senior Vice President Rikard Steiber (Virtual Reality) said “With Vive we are focused on bringing a fully immersive experience to our users, and this partnership with Björk felt like a really natural fit.”  Note: The VR exhibit will also support content on Samsung’s Gear VR headset.
• Separately, singer-songwriter Paul McCartney released the first two episodes of PURE McCartney VR, a six-part series of virtual reality documentary where “fans will embark on a personal journey with Paul as he recounts memories and anecdotes related to various tracks, while sharing archived and never-before-seen footage.” Note: The content will be available in iOS, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Desktop 360 formats.
• Finally, Microsoft Executive Vice President Terry Myerson (Windows and Devices Group) announced at Computex in Taipei, “Today we focused on the next frontier – mixed reality. Providing devices with the ability to perceive the world, breaking down the barriers between virtual and physical reality is what we call mixed reality. Imagine wearing a VR device and seeing your physical hands as you manipulate an object, working on the scanned 3D image of a real object, or bringing in a holographic representation of another person into your virtual world so you can collaborate. In this world, devices can spatially map your environment wherever you are; manipulating digital content is as easy and natural as picking up a box or sitting at a table; and you can easily teleport into your next meeting or travel together as a team.

OUR TAKE

• Regarding Björk and Paul McCartney - Their efforts should help develop a better understanding of 1) user expectations for virtual reality and 2) the advantages and constraints of various delivery platforms.

• Regarding Microsoft -  As the realms of augmented and virtual reality merge, users will increasingly confront the question of how much “virtual” they want to incorporate into their “reality”.